Reversing apparatus for regenerative furnaces.



T. S. BLAIR, In. REVERSING APPARATUS FOR REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

APPLICATION FiLED JUNE 5,1917.

I Patented June 11, 1918.-

. vW mm 4 T. S. BLAIR, in:

REIERSING APPARAms FOR REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

APPLJCATIOY FILED lUNE 5,1917.

Pafented June 11, 191&

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IIII Patented June 11, 1918.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3. A

T. S. BLMR, JR. REVERSFNG APPA-RATUS FOR REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5,1917.

I. S. BLAiR, In,

REVERSl-NG APPARATUS FOR REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED lUNE 5. i917.

l fi 1. 5% Patented June 11., 1918 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4..

M Iii mm mm I III T. S. BLAIR, JR.

REVERSING APPARATUS FOR REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

Patented June 11. 1918.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 5,19l7.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5.

.1 MN m N ilhllTED FdTATEd FATENT @FFEQE.

THOMAS S. BLAIR, JR., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BLAIR ENGINEERING COMEANY, 0F QHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

REVERSING APPARATUS FOR, REGENERATIVE FURNACES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. BLAIR, J12, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Reversing Apparatus for Regenerative Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of my invention is to improve the mechanism of the apparatus of Letters Patent of the United States No. 929,277, granted to me July 27, 1909, for a reversing apparatus for regenerative furnaces, to the ends of materially simplifying the construction, facilitating the switching of the elbow-like fiue-cohnecting ducts, and greatly decreasing the weight of the apparatus, reducing the cost of its manufacture, and the expense of its maintenance and op eration.

The following general description of the patented apparatus and its operation will facilitate comprehension of the present improvements and, avoid the need of herein illustrating and describing them with ref erence to more than one of the reversing flue-terminal connecting ducts, its attending parts and features cotiperating with it.

Swinging ducts are provided for reversing the gaseous fuel and combustion-supporting air through the furnace including the checker-work underneath, all being under the influence of the stack-draft, and each of the two gas-conducting fines has its communication with the gas-supply equipped with a shut ofi valve. Each duct is rotatably and 'tiltably mounted at one end on the watersealed terminal of a line and is adapted to be seated at its opposite end alternately in the water-sealed terminals of two other lines, after being tilted on its one end to withdraw the opposite end from its seat on one terminal preparatory to the turn ing to register its swinging end with and sent it at the other terminal for levels ing the course of the or air through the furnace to the stack. The terminal of each air-flue is equipped with a lid or valve its hinged for adjusting it to regulate the admission of air when the valve is open and to be automatically raised out of the way of the swinging end of the respective duct in being switched from the terminal of one due to that of the other whether these latbe or gas fines. For. raising the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1918.

application filed June 5, 1917. Serial No. 172,908.

swinging ends of ducts out of their seats preparatory to turning them for theswitching purpose, a power-cylinder is provided on a superstructure or elevated working platform extending over the ducts; and for turning the ducts, after being thus tilted, to switch them to their reversingspgsitions, they are provided about their axially rotatable ends with cables connected with piston-mechanism for switching the several ducts simultaneously.

These ducts are very heavy, each weighing several thousand pounds, so that the matter of tilting to raise them for the aforesaid purpose tends to strain the mechanism; and in re-seating it is diflicult to so control them in lowering as to avoid their droppin heavily against their seats with the liability of smashing and disorganizing the mechanism. To overcome these ditciculties' I have provided cam-ways for gradually raising and lowering the swinging end of each duct outof and into its seat in initially turning and registering the duct, and a-track extending between the cams for guiding the duct to its reversing position while being switched by the application of suitable power; and this constitutes the principal i'eature of my improvement, and is with other features hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing my improvements as they may be applied to a stack-flue terminal and a pair of air-fiue terminals, the switching duct being represented partly in section and partly by dotted lines; Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a broken sectional view showing the duct in its tilted position for swinging it; Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the showing in Fig. 1- Fig. 5 is a broken section on. line 55, Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a view like that presented by Fig; 1, but showing the track to be located between the ends of the swinging duct; Fig. 7 is a broken section taken approximately 0n the line 7-7, Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a broken section on line 8-8, Fig. 6.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the flue terminal 6 is surmounted by an annular trough 7 forming a water-seal and provided about its upper edge with a track 8, on which rides. an annular turntable t3 provided at intervals with openings 10, in which are journaled wheels 11' to run on the track 8 in rotating the turn-table, which is held in place by rollers 12 jour n'aled at intervals thereon to depend and engage with the circumferential face of the annular track. The elbow-like duct 13 has secured about its end adjacent to the trough 7 an internally flanged thirnble-like extension 14 to dip into the water-seal; and the duct is journaled near that end on trunnions 15 in bearings provided at diametrically opposite points on the turn-table. Each of the two air-flue terminals, 16 and 17, with which the duct cooperates, is stopped by an annw lar trough 18, forming a waterseal, these two troughs being like the trough 7, except that neither is provided with a' track ,8. An arc-shaped track-base 19, having horizontal flanges at 20, (Fig. 4) extends from one to the other of the troughs l6 and 1?. An areshaped track 21 is supported on and ex tends along this base and terminates at its opposite ends in similar cam-ways 22 havv mg base-flanges 23, through which they are bolted to the flanges 20 on the trough-edges. The duct carries on its swinging end a wheel at (Fig. 2) in position to ride on the track and up and down the carn-ways 22, each of which forms a seat for the wheel when at that end of, the track.

For swinging the duct into registration with either flue-terminal 16 or 17 from the other, the table 9 is turned in the proper direction, thereby riding the wheel 24a up the inclined inner side of the respective earn-way to tilt the duct on its trunnions l5 and raise its swinging end out and clear of the respective trough 18, when the continued turning of the table causes the wheel to travel along the intermediate part of the track 21, which thus guides the duct to the other camway,' down the inclined inner side of which it continues, to become seated, whereby the duct is tilted forward on its trunnions and enters at its swinging end into the adjacent water-seal trough, with which it then registers. The duct should be counterweighted to reduce its resistance to tilting by movement along the cam-ways and take its weight oil the track, and a suitable counterweight (not shown) may be employed for the purpose 011s of the two loops 25 shown to he provided on the duct and which are used for attaching cables to that very heavy feature for handing it in its erection and in other connections, may he used for attachment of such counter-- weight, as through the medium oi a cable passing over pulleys on the superstructure or elevated working platform referred to.

Power for operating the duct may be hand, hydraulic, steam, compressed air, or electric. The mechanism shown for the purpose is hydraulic, and com rises av pair of alined cylinders 26 and 24, their (3931 incense flanged wheels 12 that engage the periphery of the track 8 for confining the turn-table in place thereon.

lflach fiueterininal 16 and l? is provided with a hinged lid 2-9 having the hingepintle 3O journaled in cars 31 on the re spcctive trough. An arm 32 extending from each pintle and connected with the outer face of the adjacent lid carries a pin at 33 on its outer end with which one end of a linl: se is pivotally connected, the opposite link end being connected as represented at 35, with the turn-table. 'lhe lids are adapted to extend, for closing the flue-terminals, over the inner walls or the respective troughs and to dip at their annular lips or flanges into water therein to seal the closure; and they are so arranged that when the duct is turned from one flue-terminal to register with the other, the lid on the latter is raised by its link connection with the turn-table out of the Way of the swinging end of the duct to enable seating thereof.

without obstruction, and the link-connection with the turn-table of the other lid causes it to be lowered on its hinge over the inner wall of. the respective trough to close that flue-terminal. Where the dues having the terminals 16 and 17 are airdlues, it is desirable to adapt the lids to act as valves for regulating the admission of air into the fluesl l or that purpose, each link is provided'in its outer end with a longitudinal slot 36, through which the pivotal connection with the respective arm is made; and each cover has attached to it one end of a cable 37, the opposite end being adjustably fastened to any suitable overhead device, which may be on the aforesaid superstructure. By properlyadjusting the length of the cable, the hinged cover may be arrested by it to desired extent, short of closing the terminal. With the pivotal connection of the arm 32 and link in a slot 36, the resultant lost-motion in the one direction of the respective link will always permit the lid to be raised out of the way of the duct in seating and, in the other direction, will not engage the pivot-pin in the slot after the lid has closed to the extent permitted by-its adjusting cable 37. As will be understood, the lid on one gas-flue terminal should be fully closed when that on 'another such terminal is fully open; so that for the lids of those terminals there are no slots in their operating links, with which the respective arms 32 should each then be pivotally connected at a fixed point, and no cables 37 are used.

To operate the apparatus for swinging the duct from its position represented of connecting the terminals 6 and 16 to that of ment of the rod 28 turns the table 9 in the directionto ride the wheel 2d up the inclined sideof the cam-way in which it is shown to be seated in Fig. 4, and along-the horizontal track 21 and thence down the inclined side of the other cam-way'22 until seated therein. Thus the duct is tilted backwardly on its trunnions 15 to raise the swinging duct-end, while supported by the respective cam-way, out of the water-seal trough of the flue-terminal 16' and carry it along the horizontal track 21 until it attains the other cam-way, down which the wheel rides, supporting the duct at that end until seated, to .enter the duct-end into the adjacent trough 18. To swin' the duct from the position last describe to that in which the drawings represent it, the hydraulic pressure is introduced into the cylinder 27 and the water previously introduced into the cylinder 26 discharges therefrom. In either movement of the duct, the

links 34, being connected with the turntable, close the lid on the flue-terminal which the duct is leaving and raise the other lid to remove it out of the way of the ductend in approaching its seat in the adjacent trough 18.

With the track located as represented in Fig. 1, the operation of swinging the duct from one position to the other consumes .only a few seconds'ot' time. "not to exceed about twenty. By riding the duct along the cam-ways, cables and their rigging for tilting and turning it, shown and described in the aforesaid patent, are dispensed with with resultant economy and simplification o'f the apparatus; the raising and lowering of the swinging duct-end out of and into registration with the flue-terminals is gradual and it is guided in the meantime by the cam-Ways, as it is by the track 21 while the wheel 24 is riding thereon; and the lowering of the duct into registration is without jar and resultant tendency to disorganize the mechanism.

The Figs. 6, 7 and 8 correspond, generally, with Figs. 1, 4 and 2, respectively, but represent the track 21 in its location between the ends or under the arch of the duct, that is to say between the terminal 6 and the pair of terminals 16 and 17, that being the preferred position oi the track, particularly for some purposes. With the track in this intermediate position, the wheel 24 is placed to ride upon it and to that end isjournaled, as represented in Fig. 8, at the inner face of the swinging end of the duct on the internally flanged thimble surrounding the lating end'of said duct registers, and camways ter. In that relative position of the track, the advantages are attained of riding the duct at a point about midway between its ends, thus in a more balanced manner, and

to 5, inclusive.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of construction thus specifically shown and described, and I do not intend by illustrating a single specific or preferred embodiment of my invention to be limited thereto, my intention being in the following claims to claim protection upon all the novelty there may be in my in- 9 vention as fully as the state of the art will permit.

I claim:

1. In a regenerative-furnace reversing apparatus, the combination of a flue-terminal, a switching duct rotatably and tiltingly supported at one end on said terminal and carrying a wheel, a pair of flue-terminals alternately with which the opposite swinging end of said duct registers, and cam-ways be- 1 tween said first-named terminal and said pair of terminals for riding said duct on said wheel out of and into such registration.

2. In a regenerative-furnace reversing apparatus, the combination of a flue-terminal,- a switching duct rotatably and tiltingly supported at one end on said terminal and carrying a wheel, a pair of flue-terminals alternately with which the opposite swingand an intermediatetrack between said firstfnamed terminal and said pair of terminals,

on which said wheel rides for guiding the duct in moving from one to the other of the fluid-terminals of said pair.

3. In a regenerativfurnace reversing ap paratus, the combinat 011 of a flue-terminal, a switching duct rotatably and tiltingly supported at one end on said terminal, a pair of flue-terminals alternately with which the opposite swinging end of said duct registers, power-meehanism for swinging said duct, comprising hydraulic cylinders having piston-rods connected withsaid duct for turning it, and cam-ways and an'intermediate track for guiding said duct in moving from one to the other of the flue-terminals of said pairs.

4. In a regenerative-furnace reversing apparatus, the combination of a flue terminal, 

